Advances in Mass Spectrometry Imaging for Visualization of Cellular Information in Biological Tissues

Abstract

Imaging techniques to distinguish cellular changes are required to elucidate disease mechanisms and to advance diagnosis and treatment. Mass spectrometry imaging, which visualizes the distribution of molecules in biological tissues, is useful for capturing changes of local chemical states of cellular networks containing multiple molecules. In this paper, the development of advanced techniques for measuring spatial distribution information of lipids and proteins at the cellular scale and their application to the imaging of biological tissues will be outlined. Developments of ionization methods for highly sensitive measurement of microdomain components and sample pretreatment methods have expanded the number of molecular species that can be measured. Information on the distribution of molecules involved in the heterogeneity of disease tissues, which cannot be obtained by omics measurement using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, will contribute to the development of life science research. Further efforts are demanded to promote the interdisciplinary research and development involving fundamental technologies such as ionization, pretreatment, mass spectrometry, and data analysis, as well as research on actual samples by utilizing these technologies.